The cure for chronic misinformation? Local news
It has never been easier to find information. Unfortunately, it has never been easier to find misinformation, either.
Social media fills our screens with headlines, opinions, rumors and stories shared thousands of times before anyone stops to ask whether the things they’re reposting are accurate. Too often, people assume that because something appears online, it must be true. We have seen time and again that this simply isn’t the case. This is one of the many reasons why local journalism matters.
At a local newspaper, we don’t publish stories based on hearsay or whatever happens to be trending on social media. Before a story appears in print or online, it is reported, verified, edited, checked and double checked. Reporters contact sources, review records, attend meetings, and ask questions. Editors examine stories for accuracy and fairness before readers ever see them, and when a story doesn’t live up to our standards of scrutiny, readers never end up seeing them at all. Those steps may take more time, but they are essential. Getting the story right is more important than getting it first.
No newspaper is perfect. Mistakes happen, and when they do, responsible news organizations correct them. That’s part of the job. Credibility isn’t built by pretending to be flawless. It’s built by being transparent, accountable and committed to the truth.
The internet doesn’t always operate by those same standards. Anyone can create a website or social media account and present opinions as facts. Some of those users are committed to rigorous journalism. Most are not. False information spreads quickly because it often sparks outrage or confirms what people already want to believe. By the time the truth catches up, the damage has often been done.
That is why readers should pause before sharing a sensational post or believing a headline from an unfamiliar source. Ask who wrote it. Ask where the information came from. Ask whether anyone verified the claims.
A telltale sign of a post that deserves heightened scrutiny is a lack of attribution. Many times, when an issue impacts our community, posts circulate online that read like news articles, but do not share where the information came from. At best, these posts often take reporting from local outlets and pass it off as their own. At worst, the posts are rife with misinformation.
Local newspapers have something to lose if we get the facts wrong. We lose the trust of our readers. That trust must be earned every day. It is why we spend hours covering community board meetings, interviewing public officials, checking records and talking to the people affected by the stories we tell.
The next time you come across a startling claim online, don’t assume it’s true simply because it’s popular. Take a closer look. Compare sources. Better yet, turn to the local news organizations that have, hopefully, earned your confidence by doing the work.
